Obama, Dems Are Unified Now But Face Tough Tests

2013-10-18T19:48:54Z2013-10-18T19:48:54Z

By JULIE PACEAP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) - For President Barack Obama and
congressional Democrats, this month's budget battles brought about a
remarkable period of party unity, a welcome change for the White House
after a summer of disputes over possible military action in Syria,
government spying programs and the president's pick to lead the Federal
Reserve.

But Democratic solidarity will face a tougher test
during the broader budget talks following the reopening of the
government and the increase of Treasury's borrowing authority. While the
prospect of a large-scale agreement is slim, Republicans will try to
extract concessions from Obama on spending, deficit reduction and
entitlement reform - all areas where Democratic lawmakers have worried
the president is willing to give up too much.

"When things get serious, some of these
negotiations are going to be awfully tough for people," Jim Manley,
former adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said of
congressional Democrats.

Throughout the 16-day shutdown and march toward the
debt ceiling deadline, congressional Democrats lined up solidly behind
Obama and his vow to not negotiate with Republicans. It was a hard-line
stance that many in the party wished he had taken during previous fiscal
fights.

Democratic unity was further bolstered by the
fissures that emerged among Republicans and a burst of polling that
showed the GOP was taking the brunt of the public's blame for the
shutdown. And in the end, every congressional Democrat voted for the
deal that keeps the government open until Jan. 15, lifts the debt
ceiling until Feb. 7, and opens two months of budget negotiations.

But if any agreement does emerge from those talks,
it will likely require Obama to make concessions that could rankle his
Democratic allies.

The biggest sticking point could be over reforms to
federal benefit programs, which Democrats have refused to accept
without accompanying increases in tax revenue - a non-starter for GOP
leaders. The budget plan Obama outlined this year put Democrats on edge
because it proposed bold changes to Medicare and Social Security.

One possible compromise in the end-of-the-year
talks may involve Obama offering more modest entitlement changes in
exchange for easing the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester,
echoing an idea floated by House Republicans during the shutdown.

The sequester is unpopular with both parties. But
there is little consensus over how to offset the spending cuts, which
are scheduled to intensify in mid-January, with the Pentagon bearing
most of the cuts.

Democrats don't appear to want to compromise over
spending levels. Party leaders say they already gave in to Republicans
by agreeing to let the GOP extend the current sequester levels through
Jan. 15 as part of the short-term deal to end the shutdown.

White House officials say Obama has made clear to
Democrats that no one will emerge from budget negotiations with
everything on his wish list.

"He will not get in a budget negotiation everything
he wants, and neither will Democrats and neither will Republicans,"
White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Patrick Griffin, who served as legislative director
for President Bill Clinton, said Obama's challenge will be balancing an
outcome that could help build bipartisan support for his other agenda
items with the desires of Democrats facing re-election in 2014.

"What might be good for the president for his next
three years might not be the same agenda that's good for (Senate
Majority Leader) Harry Reid and the caucus for the next year," he said.

Before the shutdown and debt debate, it appeared as
though the ties between the White House and Democrats were fraying.
Liberal Democrats were angry over revelations that the White House was
continuing government spying programs started under President George W.
Bush. Many in the party opposed Obama's call for possible military
action in Syria following a chemical weapons attack. And several
Democratic lawmakers revolted against Obama's preferred choice to lead
the Federal Reserve, forcing economist Lawrence Summers to withdraw his
name from consideration even before he could be nominated.

Fearing the fractures could bleed over into the
budget battles, the White House, along with Reid and House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi, spent weeks trying to shore up support within the
party. Obama was in frequent contact with party leaders and held
meetings with the full Democratic caucus, both on Capitol Hill and at
the White House.

Democratic officials say the unity spilled over
into fundraising efforts. The DNC, which has struggled to raise money
this year, said it brought in $850,000 the day before the government
shutdown, marking its best one-day fundraising haul since before the
November election. And halfway through the month, DNC communications
director Mo Elleithee said October is already the committee's biggest
fundraising month of the year. He did not say how much the DNC has
raised so far this month.

Sean Spicer, communications director for the
Republican National Committee, said the GOP has also seen a "large
uptick" in fundraising since the end of September, but he did not
provide specific numbers.

Copyright 2013 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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